"Controversial Airport Bill Gains Momentum in California"

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Airport Bill Gains Momentum
By Olin Ericksen
The Santa Monica (CA) Lookout News


The Los Angeles City Council Wednesday threw its weight behind a
controversial effort to gauge possible air pollution blowing from Santa
Monica Airport into adjacent neighborhoods.

All twelve council members backed a resolution penned by Westside Council
member Bill Rosendahl to support a State bill that would require Santa
Monica officials to publicly record the taxi and idle times of jet
operations for one year.

The data would be used to eventually determine when, where and how pollution
from the 18,000 jets that fly in and out of the tiny airport every year may
affect residents in surrounding areas.

While several local council members oppose the bill, saying it is expensive,
duplicative of other studies and singles out Santa Monica's airport for
increased scrutiny, Rosendahl's resolution adds momentum to efforts to pass
the bill, which has been backed by Los Angeles, County, state and even
Federal officials.

"We're not going to stand for it anymore," Rosendahl said of the pollution
he and other officials claim is blown into adjacent neighborhoods south and
east of the airport.

The residents of Los Angeles and Mar Vista neighborhood who live near the
airport have no voice, because they cannot vote in Santa Monica, Rosendahl
said.

In addition, Santa Monica's proximity to nearby residents is one of the main
reasons they support the bill authored by Ted Lieu of the 53rd Assembly
District, even though it singles out Santa Monica airport, proponents said.

The original draft of the State bill mandated that all airports undertake
such data collection, which Santa Monica officials believe may cost the City
close to $500,000 to implement.

"They are so close and yet no buffer exists," said Rosendahl of the single
street that separates some residents from the airport. "This resolution lets
Santa Monica realize we in Los Angeles are fed up with these jets."

Santa Monica airport officials counter that there are several airports in
the United States that have high volumes of traffic that are in close
proximity to neighborhoods, including the Haywood Airport in Northern
California.

The news about the Los Angeles resolution was welcomed by a group of
residents that for years has tried to have the issue addressed.

"We've been trying to do something like this for eight years," said Martin
Rubin, head of the Concerned Residents Against Airport Pollution. "This is
the first time the City of Los Angeles has spoken on our behalf. The
momentum is definitely building."

While both sides squabble over how much this may cost Santa Monica, City
officials argue that the entire analysis is unnecessary, since the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already funded a $400,000 air
quality monitoring study, currently underway with the South Coast Air
Quality Management District.

While Rosendahl and Lieu said the monitoring study - which is being
performed at other airports - is important, they believe that it does not go
far enough to address the health concerns of residents near the Santa Monica
airport.

The raw data collected on idling times would be later used in a "modeling"
study favored by the EPA to study the effects of pollution on a specific
area, Rosendahl said.

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